Richard Swan: The Justice of Kings

Hi everyone

The Justice of Kings is the first book in the Empire of the Wolf series by Richard Swan.
This book was a gift from my parents some time ago.

"The Empire of the Wolf simmers with unrest. Rebels, heretics and powerful patricians all challenge the power of the imperial throne.
Only the Order of Justices stands in the way of chaos. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is the most feared Justice of all, upholding the law by way of his sharp mind, arcane powers and skill as a swordsman. At his side stands Helena Sedanka, his clerk and protégé, orphaned by the wars that forged the empire.
When the pair investigate the murder of a provincial aristocrat, they unearth a conspiracy that stretches to the very top of imperial society. As the stakes rise and become ever more personal, Vonvalt and Helena must make a choice: will they abandon the laws they've sworn to uphold in order to protect the empire?"

I didn’t really enjoy this book.

My biggest problem was the constant foreshadowing of bad things to come; things getting worse, danger lurking around every corner. It’s on almost every page, and I hate it when authors do that. Richard Swan might think he’s creating tension or a sense of anticipation, but for me, he’s only creating aggravation.

Second, the book was rather boring. I’m not a huge fan of murder mysteries, but I do enjoy them from time to time. The issue here wasn’t the genre; it was the writing and conversations, which were bland and unengaging. Swan goes on and on about the legal stuff, and while the idea of a traveling justice system is intriguing and fresh, it slows the story down too much. There’s not much going on, the plot gets chopped into pieces, and the characters go back and forth without progress. The book is way too long for the story it tells.

Third, I despised Helena’s insta-love story and how immature she was. She meets this boy, they fall in love, say "I love you", imagine spending their lives together, and talk about marrying and having children; all in maybe four meetings? I fully expected her to throw multiple temper tantrums throughout the book. All she does is fall in love, cry, feel hurt, and be angry. For someone who is supposed to be a rough street child, she acts like a spoiled, weak, unskilled weasel.
And what’s going on between Vonvalt and Helena? Sexual tension gets hinted at, love gets hinted at, but also a father-daughter bond. What is it? I sure hope it’s the last one, because if it’s not… yikes.

The Justice of Kings is about Konrad Vonvalt, but it’s written from the POV of Helena Sedanka (which was weird for me, reading my own name in a book!). I thought that was an excellent idea because Konrad’s POV would have been too dry and boring, so reading from Helena’s perspective was a great solution.
I also enjoyed the world and the magic. Both are minimal but really well written and interesting enough to keep me reading. I love fantasy novels where characters travel around and meet different people, and this book delivered that.
The idea of a system of judges who travel around to all the small towns was a great concept; something I never thought about in other books. It’s fresh and intriguing to see how justice would be administered in such a world.

The Justice of Kings had some great ideas, but the execution fell flat for me. The foreshadowing, bland writing, and Helena’s immaturity made it hard to enjoy.

Have you read The Justice of Kings? Did you enjoy it more than I did, or did you feel the same way? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena